LaMalfa says report shows widespread ballot harvesting threatens election integrity
Congressman Doug LaMalfa cited a Committee on House Administration’s Report: Political Weaponization of Ballot Harvesting in California that alleges “likely voter fraud and abuse” took place during the California 2018 midterm election as a result of “unlimited ballot harvesting.”
Savannah Glasgow, a LaMalfa spokesperson, said it would be fair to characterize the report as the work of the Republican members of the committee.
The report was prepared by committee ranking member Rodney Davis. The committee is comprised of three Republicans (one from North Carolina) and six Democrats, including three from California.
The report alleges Democratic Party “political operatives, known as ‘ballot brokers’” collect ballots through what it calls “ballot harvesting,” and the widespread ballot harvesting “led to the defeat of seven Republican candidates in the California 2018 midterm election.”
According to the report LaMalfa cited, “Furthermore, it has been reported that these ballot brokers intercept and destroy mail-in ballots of voters who traditionally vote against the brokers’ preferred party. These ballot brokers are the new Tammany Hall ward bosses, controlling the votes of their harvested area. Brokers are often added to campaign payrolls based purely on the number of ballots they promise to harvest.”
“The Committee on House Administration and its Subcommittee on Elections are responsible for all matters related to election law and are charged with investigating election irregularities,” the report begins. “In our report, committee Republicans examine the use of ballot harvesting – when any individual can pick up any voter’s ballot for any reason and deliver it to the polling location completely unchecked – in the 2018 Midterm Congressional Elections. Specifically, the report looks at two states: North Carolina, which overturned an election because of the fraud associated with ballot harvesting, and California, which maximized and politically weaponized its use in 2018. The report highlights the fraud and abuse associated with ballot harvesting.”
“California Democrats in Sacramento inflicted irreversible damage on our state’s elections, LaMalfa wrote. “AB 1921 paved the way for mass ballot harvesting to benefit Democrat candidates for state and federal office. Based on the data in this report, the House of Representatives should immediately open an investigation into the 2018 California elections and determine how widespread the damage was. Manipulative practices that undermine the trust citizens place in the electoral process, like ballot harvesting, need to be banned. States have the right to set up elections in their territory, but not skew the outcome. Congress must assert its role in ensuring congressional candidates are fairly elected.”